events.

let's collaborate...let's create.

cafe con libros is a feminist community bookstore catering to folks who are book lovers, coffee aficionados, or both. we aim to provide space for anyone seeking a community of readers and thinkers and, to spread the love of reading as a source of healing and joy.

cafe con libros will also provide community programming to include a book club, book fairs for children and young adults, prison outreach, and when possible, host local artist.

in solidarity with our community, we wish to open our space for use free of charge in service of a broader, collective endeavor.

lovingly,

kqd & rfc.

let's collaborate...let's create.

let's collaborate...let's create.

organizer's name: *

organizer's name:

First Name

Last Name

email address: *

contact number:

our intention...

cafe con libros is a dedicated feminist space. we wish to elevate and complicate the diverse stories of womyn around the globe. we aim to collaborate with community members who share similar vibrations, intentions, and wishes for our community. while we value all stories, we stand firm in our commitment to feminist/womanist politics and therefore, all community events must strive to welcome, serve and/or represent womyn.

name of the event... *

name of the event:

is this an art exhibition? *

if yes, is your art for sale? *

in the case your art is for sale, cafe con libros request a commission of 20%.

do you agree to remit 20% of revenue from sales of your art at cafe con libros to cafe con libros?

is this a closed event? *

a closed event means you are completely responsible for inviting and securing participants. while we may post the event on the website as a testimony to the type of events we support, we will make it clear the event is closed. private events requires a signed contract.

if yes, is there an entrance fee? *

cafe con libros is honored and grateful to be able to offer our space free of charge. therefore, we prefer event organizers not to charge an entrance fee. however, we respect the hustle and struggle so, if a fee must be charged, we trust that the amount is within integrity.

date

date

MM

DD

YYYY

start and end time... *

our greatest intention is to support our community with the least amount of barriers and complications. in that spirit, in order to honor the primary purpose of the space, all events must begin close to or after closing time. In addition, events must begin and end on time. if after one hour and in the absence of extenuating circumstances, there are no participants, we reserve the right to cancel the event.

purpose/intention/how does this event serve the community: *

audience (target & anticipated amount): *

Cafe con Libros is a small space that facilitates intimacy and connection. The cap on attendees is 25-30 community members.

logistics

cafe con libros will act as collaborators in outside community events. we ask that we collectively share the responsibility of ensuring the event is safe, fun, and welcoming to all folks.

will you need chairs? *

if yes, how many? *

5-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

would you like us to order pastries? *

would you like us to promote on social media?

in support of your event, we will create a FB event, post on Twitter, and market the event on our website. while we see ourselves as partners in each endeavor, we believe and expect the majority of the marketing to be accomplished by the organizer.

will you create a flier? *

in exchange...

in exchange for the use of the space, we are asking that you encourage your invitees to patronize the cafe by buying coffee, books, and/or pastries. in addition, we ask that they positively review the space, post pictures and tag us, and generally spread the word about cafe con libros.

are you willing to commit to our exchange policy? *

do you have any questions or concerns about our exchange policy? *

in closing...

thank you so much for choosing cafe con libros to collaborate with you. we appreciate your support and, service to the community. someone from our team will be in touch within 36-48 hours. we will forward an event space use contract that will formally reiterate our working agreement. we look forward to connecting. -kqd & rfc.

This book explores thirty different lessons and notions Hope Alcocer has learned before blowing out the candles on Alcocer's 30th birthday cake. They're fun, raw, yet important nuggets on lessons of love and career, sex and status, health and wellness, family and f*ck boys, and most importantly- the pursuit of genuine self-love and finding true happiness.

Amanda J. Bradley, Laurel Radzieski, and Daryl Sznyter use words to create three separate corporeal spaces that become concentric only in terms of the gender on which their narratives rely. Amanda J. Bradley's Queen Kong enters a dialogue with famous feminists throughout history about the manipulations of their bodies, Laurel Radzinski's Red Mother explores a parasite's unrequited love for its female host, and Daryl Sznyter's Synonyms for (OTHER) Bodies is a declaration of self-love despite (or perhaps even because of) the trauma a body can overcome.

The pieces provide a space of reckoning with questions surrounding perspective and the way it shifts and compounds, elevates or distorts. Through finely detailed ink work, the pieces are meant to be introspective and reflective.

Ade Raphael is a queer/trans Virgin Islands born and raised artist. She is currently based in Denver and NYC.

Join Dr. Morancie for an interactive discussion about the causes and emotional effects of abuse and harassment in the workplace. Come prepared to learn, laugh, and discover effective strategies for protecting yourself in the face of abuse from a bullying boss.

Wedding season is upon us, but have you ever wonder how weird it is that brides need their parents’ permission to marry but grooms do not? Are you curious why women don't propose more? Have you noticed that men usually don't wear engagement rings? Are you at all outraged that there's a fair amount of slut shaming toward women on bachelorette parties? If so, the book, The Adventures and Discoveries of a Feminist Bride: What No One Tells You Before You Say 'I Do'" by author Katrina Majkut will have the answer you are seeking and more.

After breaking into her own apartment in her underwear to save a bridesmaid’s dress, experiencing outlandish sexual harassment from men while celebrating friends’bachelorette parties, and then watching friends’ similar misadventures, Majkut threw in her newlywed monogrammed towel and said, “What’s with all the wedding drama? Women deserve better than this!”

With the help of feminism (the greatest gift anyone can put on a wedding registry), Majkut uncovers eye-opening historical truths and investigates how social traditions impact people’s lives both socially and civilly. She discovers that it’s not just about the bride and discusses how wedding rituals must evolve to better support marriage equality and respect diverse people’s needs (and, gasp, even men’s). Majkut lays out how couples can act with more integrity and love on their big day because equality can’t happen unless everyone works together. Just take it from Majkut—who learned the hard way—the perfect wedding includes perfect equality!

Join Majkut on Friday May 11th at 6pm for a book reading, signing, and Q&A by Majkut.

I Am Queen Ruby” is the very first book of the series. It is about a young girl, named Ruby, who is teased for having darker skin. When Ruby gets empowered by her teacher, she realizes that she is a queen. This book consists of an inspiring message for children between the ages of 3-16. In addition, it addresses the socio-emotional issues that our youth face on a daily basis.

Background:

I Am Queen JVC is a consulting company that empowers people to master life through motivational speaking and one on one coaching. We cater to adults and children alike. Our “I Am Queen” portfolio focuses on youth development. Although, we follow the anti-bullying regime, the mission is to instill the concept of self-love for girls and boys from all communities. We are currently working on a series of children’s books that empower youth.

Like plants, people have the power to grow, thrive and adapt to their environment. If given the correct amount of light, water, and nutrients; plants will flourish. The growth and productivity of plants are strongly impacted by their environment. Environmental stress can be detrimental to the life of a plant. Just like plants, humans are deeply affected by the stresses of our habitats. And just like plants, humans have the biological ability to adapt and discover how to thrive despite unfavorable environmental circumstances.

Adaptation is an exploration and celebration of humanities kinship with the Earth. We are at a tipping point as climate change adversely effects our environment. Humanity must decide to adapt and change our habits in order to protect life on Earth. Otherwise, we are in danger of losing the conservation provided by our ecosystem.

Artist Bio

Steven Mosley is a painter from Hughesville Maryland. He currently lives in Jersey City, NJ where he works as a director and artist.

His Portraits are narrative snapshots that tell the stories and personal experiences of Blacks in America. Every painting contains a multitude of messages, hidden in visual patterns, mixed media collage and color.

Come to Cafe Con Libros on April 27th and enjoy a night of chill vibes, inspiring literature and of course a good cause. The entrance is $5 dollars which gets you a free drink and all of the proceeds will be donated to Immigration Equality. So come support your local artists and get ready for a funky time!

The Renegade Reading Series is coming to Cafe Con Libros on Friday, April 20th - and they're looking for readers! The RRS is a monthly reading series featuring the best emerging writers in NYC and they accept rolling submissions all year. If you are interested in submitting your work for April 20th or a future event, please email renegadereading@gmail.com with a writing sample, a headshot/photo, and a short bio and they’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

All emerging poets, fiction writers, and essayists are welcome to submit. The Renegade Reading Series center the voices of women, POC, LGBTQ+ folks, and people with disabilities. Their main aim is to bring new and diverse voices with immense talent to the stage.

I often write about things that are uncomfortable to talk about. What I hope is that I can trigger people to think about things from a different perspective and to get people talking about things with a level of empathy. My desire is to foster communication and to build understanding by honestly sharing myself.

One Love- Randi"

Randi Bryant has successfully leveraged her experience as a corporate diversity trainer, her widely-followed societal commentary blog, and her inaugural published book, Neversays, to create an unparalleled training and speaking platform on the issues of diversity and inclusiveness. Her seventeen years of experience in providing diversity and inclusion training through her company, Bryant Consulting Group, provided firsthand experience on the importance of creating and fostering an inclusive environment to organizations’ financial bottom lines through enhanced employee engagement, improved performance and the ability to avoid the economic and time costs associated with discrimination claims and lawsuits. She honed both her fresh insights and her unique voice through her blog, Beatnik24.com, in which she explores all aspects of race and culture in the United States.

These efforts culminated in her recently published book, Neversays, and its unique philosophy that most people are good people, but remain woefully uninformed about how to communicate across racial, gender, national origin and other societal lines. The Neversays model avoids philosophical ponderings in favor of practical, concrete tools that people can employ to foster inclusivity and to improve their day to day interactions and communications.

Come! The Runasimi Outreach Committee and Cafe Con Libros invites you to a film screening for Los Ojos del Camino/The Eyes of the Journey. We are pleased to welcome director Rodrigo Otero Heraud and Mr. Hipólito Peralta Ccama to New York City to attend this event. They will be participating in a Q&A session moderated by the Runasimi Outreach Committee after the screening. This film is spoken entirely in Quechua with subtitles in Spanish. The Q&A session will also be primarily in Spanish, but all are welcome to attend.

Reserve your ticket today, entrance is free but space is limited! ojosdelcamino.eventbrite.comDrinks and snacks will be available for purchase.

Stories are powerful to read on a screen, but they are most impactful when exchanged in person. Join us for Gendered Contradictions, an interactive storytelling dinner experience that brings 14 strangers - 7 men and 7 women - together to deconstruct some of the everyday assumptions, biases, or contradictions we each carry inside.

Conversations and activities will be facilitated by Cassandra Lam, co-founder of The Cosmos, and Bianca Ng, artist and visual storyteller. This dinner is hosted in collaboration with Take Up Space, an annual storytelling project by Bianca Ng.

NEGRO is a docu-series exploring identity, colonization, racism, colorism within the African Diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through candid interviews, the social manifestations and consequences of the deep-seated color and class complex is explored and deconstructed.

Join us for a 47-minute screening of the feature length documentary followed by a discussion with educator, Daniel Morales-Armstrong on practical everyday strategies we can employ in challenging, deconstructing, and healing from white supremacists values through academic, social, and familial spaces.

Crystal C. Mercer is just a little girl from Little Rock, Arkansas. She's a Performance Artist, Poet, Activist and the Sole Proprietor of Columbus Creative Arts + Activism and SAFI FABric MARKET. Mercer's past credits include a number of plays and musicals in Arkansas, off - Broadway in New York, and internationally in Canterbury, England. Mercer fuses arts and activism by using theatre and textiles to tell social justice narratives, through merchandising and storytelling, with an emphasis of uplifting voices of color.

A Love Story Waiting To Happen, Mercer's first full body of published work,is a rhythmic, raw, and open movement of poetry that explores love, grief, mourning, freedom, social justice, sex, and courtships. Blending an intoxicating concoction of poetry and imagery, Mercer engages her intellect, molding herself to express stories that are both universal in nature and indicative of her journey in the full spectrum of love… Ebb. Flow. Disruption. Choas. Calm. Good. Bad. Ugly. Lovely.

Launched in early 2017, SafeWordSociety has quickly grown from a small Brooklyn-based company to an active community that strives for change, social justice, and inclusivity. We work to spotlight members and allies of our community to ensure that authentic QTPOC+ narratives reach even the most vulnerable among us.

On February 21st, we released the Visibility Pack, a discussion-based card game for safe space discourse. Created by and for queer and trans people of color (QTPOC+), the Visibility Pack serves as a collective learning and engagement tool for discussions surrounding diversity, inclusivity, understanding, and collaboration.

Our first game night will be facilitated by a SWS favorite, Ian Fields Stewart (pronouns: they/them/their). Ian is a black, queer, and mixed-race gender nonconforming New York based storyteller working at the intersection of theatre and activism. A native of Birmingham, AL, their work is centered in deconstructing mainstream media forms and rebuilding them to amplify and include the voices of marginalized people in our local and global communities.

Guests are asked contribute $10 to SafeWordSociety to help us further our mission and amplify our voices.

So be sure to come by Cafe Con Libros for coffee, discussion, empowerment and fun! RSVP at events@cafeconlibrosbk.com. There's a 15 person cap.

Written by Kem Joy Ukwu and published by Kindred Books, an imprint of Brain Mill Press,Locked Gray / Linked Blue is a collection of short stories studying the experiences and effects of loss, loneliness and estrangement. A finalist for the 2016 New American Fiction Prize, Locked Gray / Linked Blue explores the complexity and melancholy of love, encouraging empathy on the way.

Kem Joy Ukwu will read excerpts from the collection. Vanessa Willoughby, Editor of Kindred Books and Kim Coleman Foote, Writer, will read their powerful work. Darin Patterson, Comedian, will be the event's MC.

Flautist and Brooklynite, Justine Stephens will set the tone and supplement the readings with warm yet, invigorating classical music. Guest are asked contribute $10 to Justine as a gesture of support to our community members.

"The United States is a pluralistic society: a mix of cultures, languages, nationalities, races and religions, and that’s before we even address differences in political beliefs, sexual orientation, and income levels. More often than not, however, we live our lives surrounded by family, friends and in neighborhoods comprised or people very similar in attitudes and beliefs similar to ourselves. Accordingly, it should be no surprise that we sometimes feel uncomfortable and struggle when we are around people who are different. This discomfort isn’t based upon negative feelings about those differences, but rather a simple lack of familiarity.

Society is awash in propaganda about why we should embrace others, but there is little guidance on how to navigate this effort. One could spend weeks seeking to memorize the endless lists of what you should say; likely an impossible task. However, it is far more practical to learn and know what NOT to say—ever—in order to avoid offense, embarrassment and hurt feelings."

Bring your nuanced politics and good energy to this book signing and dialogue. Open to all.

Directed by Isabella Bretón, written by Gabriela Ortega and produced by Nicole Coiscou, "A Rebellious Act A Day" is an audiovisual project showcasing everyday micro-agressions Dominican women experience, while empowering them through small acts of rebellion.

The short-film has performances by notorious local actors and celebrities such as June Gómez, Marcos Mañon, Cynthia Guzmán, Lo Blanquito, Nicole Lockward, Natalia Azar, Lauren Bowcutt, Paloma de la Cruz, Lola Lora, Paloma Richiez, Pamel Mancebo, Carlos Durán, Sergio Echenique, Marina Frías, JJ Sánchez, y Kat Montes. During its Santo Domingo premiere, organizers expected a hundred attendees, but had to screen it nine times for the five hundred people audience.

Nicole Coiscou is a Dominican producer with a Journalism & Design B.A. from The New School. She organizes fundraising efforts in New York and Dominican Republic for causes of social interest.

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is the writer and creator of the critically acclaimed and best-selling graphic novel La Borinqueña which he self-published under his own studio, Somos Arte. Edgardo's debut as a writer for Marvel's anthology Guardians of the Galaxy: Tales of the Cosmos has been received with critical acclaim similar to his initial work with Marvel as curator of two exhibitions Santerians: The Art of Joe Quesada and Marvelous Color. This fall he debuted the comic book series Freak, a collaboration with the award winning actor and writer John Leguizamo. He is also co-founder of the publishing company Darryl Makes Comics with his business partner, Darryl DMC McDaniels and this fall released their third graphic novel DMC #3. Via his studio Somos Arte, he has a client roster that includes Marvel, Columbia University, and Atlantic Recordsfor which he designed the cover for The Hamilton Mixtape and Lin-Manuel Miranda's benefit single for Puerto Rico Almost Like Praying.

This event free and open to the public. Please join us in celebrating the Puerto Rican SuperShero,La Borinqueña.

FEARLESS EXPRESSION is a photography exhibit showcasing vibrant images of women of color fashioned from another point of view. It's a modern day attempt to connect to the ancestors through color, design, jewelry, and make-up. After all, we were all meant to live in color.

Kaya Jackson, a self-taught jeweler will be present to to discuss her vision and hopes for the exhibit as well as to sell jewelry.

Yoruba Mythology Coloring Book: The Gods and Goddesses of Yorubaland is a therapeutic art form to spark the discovery of an African culture of spirituality, while guiding discussions among parents, children, and other adults.

Images in the 24-page soft cover coloring book reflect and celebrate people of darker hues, kinky hair, wide hips, thick bodies and full lips.

Please join us for the launch party. This event is open and free to the public. The author will be present and available for signing. Wine and cheese will be provided over live music.